Emmaline Von Morganstern!? I had never heard of a more haughty, illustriously lavish name in his entire life. Just hearing it made me see courts of posh aristocrats and high born popinjays flocking to one another to see who had the bigger stretch of land. I tried not to laugh, and thankfully I succeeded with a will. But a smile still played on my lips. Gods, I really did escort everyone on these journeys, didn't I? Maybe next time I'll would meet some Lord named Duke Constantius Von Hohenstaufen or something. 

Still, despite the profuse name, she was a woman traveling alone and wielding weapons. He had to respect it. Hell, she even held a dwarf weapon, or so it looked like. There were very few flintlock firearms out there, after the supposed extinction of the gnomes and the dwarves halting their trade of black powder weaponry. Even with connections, I wondered how she managed to grab one. It was more advanced than the conquistador's firearms, for certain. 

Once I handed her treasure back to her, she seemed to lighten up and saw fit to grace me with conversation. I couldn't hide my wry smile at her comment on how I knew the river. Maybe she wasn't used to speaking with someone as uncouth as me. I was probably practically barbaric, or the an image of the 'noble savage' I had heard from certain Andredian works. 

"Well, my lady Von Morganstern..." I began, gently pushing the pole into the soft riverbed to swing us to the right. My manner was purposefully easy, but my eyes were on the trees and waters before us. "In this land there are no guarantees, but if you stick close to me, I'll give you my word you'll make it to your destination safe and sound. I was born here and made this trip many times." I finished my pledge by pushing the raft to the left, my muscles growing large from the exertion.

"I've noticed you've been avoiding going under certain trees. Why is that?" The blonde woman asked. She was sharper than I gave her credit for. I guess nobles did get expensive educations. I didn't fathom it was because she was used to her own extensive use of tricks and slights of hand.

I sighed, somewhat enjoying the answering of questions but also not wishing to start a panic. I looked up, and then to the left at a curve in the river. I redirected the raft to meander across a deeper section of river, past a decaying skeleton of a large beast even I could not recognize. 

"You certain you're not imagining things?" I asked with a grin, clearly joking whilst also being extremely transparent about stalling for time. Emmaline gave me a knowing look, and I gritted his teeth and exhaled. Well, I didn't want to cause any sort of panic but... "There are these trees called Makishan Trees. They... well you don't want to be under them. They uh... they drip acid."   

Silence filled the boat, save for a few gasps. I could feel their growing worry, could see it in their eyes. I took a deep breath. "It mostly just happens when it rains, but the water and the sap together fall off and can burn through clothing, skin, and maybe the raft if we're not careful. Don't worry, they aren't everywhere. They're only on this section of the journey. I just want to be safe." 

"You wan- You want to be safe!?" Emmaline balked incredulously, standing to her feet and placing her hands on her shapely hips. 

"And you like this land!?" The woman sporting the apron asked with disbelief from behind them. 

"No wonder the old Empire could not hold here for long." A conquistador muttered, gripping his arquebas tighter.  

"Sit down and don't yell," I told them, especially Emmaline. 

"I say sir, I do believe we might benefit for some lunch!" The old merchant in the back exclaimed, oblivious to the current conversation. I looked back to tell him to be quiet like I told the others, but my words died on my lips when I looked back. A tentacle-like appendage had risen out of the waters, small pincers unlatching from its hide to form into a grasping protuberances. It suddenly slapped down on the old man's shoulder, gripping into his skin and flesh and yanking him into the water with unbelievable force. 

"Murk beast!" I cried, dropping my pole and taking out my axe. Even now I could see a serapod-like head rise out, filled with saber teeth and malevolence in its near lifeless eyes. I had never seen one before, but I knew all about them. Many tentacled abominations, both reptilian and cephalopod and yet neither all at once. It's main body was the size of an ox and they were intensely territorial. 

And perpetually hungry.